Differential Effects of Conducive Classroom Environment on Learning Behaviors: Attention, Help-Seeking, Persistence, and Compliance in Grade 2

Abstract

This descriptive-correlational study examined whether a conducive classroom environment, herein conceptualized across physical, social, and academic dimensions, exerts differential effects on four distinct learning behaviors among Grade 2 learners. One hundred learners (n = 100) completed the Conducive Classroom Environment Scale for Grade 2, and 27 teachers (n = 27) completed the Learning Behaviors Scale for Grade 2. Results showed that learners perceived their classroom environment as moderately conducive (M = 48.46), with the social dimension rated highest and the physical dimension lowest. Compliance was the most highly observed behavior (64% highly observed), while persistence was the least observed (28% highly observed). A conducive classroom environment correlated positively with all four behaviors, but the strength varied considerably: compliance (r = .55, large effect), help-seeking (r = .48, medium effect), attention (r = .42, medium effect), and persistence (r = .31, medium effect). Fisher's z-test confirmed that the correlation for compliance was significantly larger than those for persistence (z = 3.21, p = .001) and attention (z = 2.04, p = .041). This study contributes evidence that for Grade 2 learners, compliance and persistence are distinct constructs with different environmental sensitivities, a finding that challenges the aggregation of attention and persistence in existing instruments and questions policy fixation on physical orderliness over social dimensions. Ultimately, Grade 2 teachers should supplement a conducive classroom environment with explicit instructional strategies that directly teach persistence, such as modeling strategies, praising effort, and designing appropriately challenging tasks.